T he German-produced Montblancs are a tricky brand
of pens to collect, mainly because most factory records were destroyed during
the war. Also i don't pretend to know very much about Montblancs. I would also
ask you to forgive possible disinformation given here, since some statements are
based on pure conjecture.

In 1906 a German engineer namend
Eberstein started business in Hamburg. The first pens to be produced were
simple black eye droppers with slip-on caps and also gold nibs imported
from the USA Eberstein very quickly found himself in financial troubles
and it was only because he managed to find backers that the Simplo pen
company was founded in 1908 in Hamburg, Germany.
Their first pens were an attractive pen named
Rouge et Noir (Red and Black) this because it was a safety BHR pen
with a large red top. This pen initially came in eight styles:

No 2 Short

No 2 Long

No 4 Short

No 4 Long

No 6 Short

No 6 Long

No 7 Short

No 7 Long

Other than these the company offered a numnber of other models:

Simplo - a smple eye dropper

Diplomat size 2

Diplomat size 4

Diplomat size 6 (many more sizes were probably produced)

In 1909 one of the financial backers
suddenly died and shortly afterwards Eberstein was cought with his hand in
the till and fled to America with his family to avoid legal action.
The other backers managed to continue the company
and in 1910 the sucessful Rouge et Noir got a brother. This model
had a white cap top and this model became popular the top was within a few
years changed into a stylized white star, supposedly for trade-mark
reasons. The name of the new pen was Montblanc and the star is
supposed to represent the snowy top of the mountain.
During the period 1910-1924 a wide variety
of Mont Blanc and Rouge et Noir-pens were produced. The Montblanc became
so popular that the Rouge et Noir was discontinued in 1921, even
though the companies Italian factory continued to produce it until
1923 The pens came in BHR or Mottled red/black HR:

No 00 Short (L: 64mm W: 7mm)

No 00 Long (L: 83mm W: 7mm)

No 0 Short (L: 78mm W: 7mm)

No 0 Long (L: 83mm W: 7mm)

No 1 Short (L: 125mm W: 11mm)

No 1 Long (L: 135mm W: 11mm)

No 2 Short (L: 118mm W: 12mm)

No 2 Long (L: 142mm W: 12mm)

No 4 Short (L: 118mm W: 13mm)

No 4 Long (L: 142mm W: 13mm)

No 6 Short (L: 124mm W: 14mm)

No 6 Long (L: 155mm W: 14mm)

No 7 Short (no info)

No 7 Long (L: 140mm W: 14mm)

No 10 Short (L: 142mm W: 14mm)

No 10 Long (no info)

No 12 Short (no info)

No 12 Long (L: 180mm W: 18mm)

At least the models 1-6 were also produced with octagonal bodies "to
prevent rolling off the table".
Another model from this time was the Padrone, a bullet shaped pen
which used an ink pellet with water added, much like the Parker "Trench
Pen" and the Simplo was continued to be produced.
In 1921 One of the workmen at Simplo lefte the company and started
kmaking his own pen, the Astoria after some years he ran into
financial difficulties and his company was bought by Montblanc in
1932 who continued to produce Astoria pens until 1936, these
are now quite rare.
In 1925 the line was completely re-arranged and
the above line was discontinued in favour af a new line that was graded
into two classes: Top line and Bottom line, depending on price (and
presumably on quality). The Top Line was called Meisterstück or
(for export) Masterpiece, a pen that has found its way into our
present day.
On the top line the metric height of the mountain
Montblanc (4810) was engraved first on then cap. The company tried a lot
of filling systems but most early pens were safety pens (you were able to
screw the entire nib into the pen body, this was safe for the nib - as
long as you remembered to screw it in before you put on the cap - but
inkwise the pens were rather messy) in the early 1920's they tried lever
fillers:

401 (135mm long 11mm wide)

402

KOLLAS
&nbspIn 1929,inspired by Parkers Duofold-series,
Simplo also began making button fillers side by side with the safeties,
while the lever-fillers were discontinued. The new colours were:

During this period a ball-ended clip in the shape of a teardrop was
adopted when the costumer so wished.
&nbspIn 1932 an economy line was added. These
pens came in three sizes denoted my an alphabetic letter, A, B or C.
&nbspThe Meisterstück pens now had the numbers
4810 engraved on the nib, while the economy line pens had the letters

A

B (L=127mm W=13mm)

C (L=129mm W=14mm)

inside a small triangle, depending on the size of the pen.
&nbspIn 1934 the company changed its name to
Montblanc-Simplo GmbH, and inthe same years the piston fillers were
introduced a feature that still come with the Montblanc pens. In
1936 the famous Montblanc numbering systems were introduced (below)
and the company got its first and only filling patent on the
Kontrollfüller, a telescopic piston. A new clip with two ridges on
top was adopted. Montblanc now produced a whole new series of pens and all
previous pens were deleted from production:

The Meisterstücks:

(102)

104

106

108

(109)

122 (L=112 W=12mm)

124

126 (L= mm W=15mm)

128 (L=128mm W=16mm)

129

132

134 (The Standard Meisterstück, L= mm W=14mm)

136

138 (L=137mm W=16mm)

139 (The Kaiserpen, L=139mm W=18mm)

The Middle range:

202

204

(206)

(208)

(209)

222 (L=128mm W=12mm)

224 (L=136mm W=13mm)

(226)

(228)

(229)

(232)

234 (The "Standard", L=124mm W=14mm)

(236)

(238)

(239)

The Economy range:

(302)

304

(306)

308

(309)

322 (L=127mm W=13mm)

(324)

(326)

(328)

(329)

(332)

334 (The "Standard")

336

(338)

(339)

The marked pens should exist but i haven't seen them (for what that is
worth).
Simply the 3 digits stood for:

First digit

1. Meisterstück

2. Medium range

3. Economy

Second digit

0. Safety filler

2. Button filler

3. Piston filler

All pens were black with a few exceptions. There were also a few letters
denoting the colour and finish:

G = Smooth finish (most common)

S = Chased

P = Pearl

E = Chased with a flowerpattern

PL = Two-tone Grey and Black

? = Two tone Red and Black (very rare)

? = Two tone Green and Black (very rare)

The button fillers were slowly phased out in
favour of the new piston-fillers. Around 1938 a new "stepped" clip
was adopted.
These pens from the mid 1930's are in my opinion
the most attractive of all Montblancs. They have excellent balance, lies
heavy and steady in the hand and are great writers. Only trouble is that
new cork seals are a bit tricky to find.
The early piston fillers had long ink-view
windows with black bars painted inside, the later modls had shorter
windows.
In 1947 until 1959 a series of
attractive Montblancs were produced in Denmark, many in colours and shapes
not to be found among the german pens. Claus Holten are doing
extensive research on these pens and i will not even try to describe them
until he has presented his results (although we are waiting eagerly).
In 1948 the new Meistersück pens were
introduced and most models of previous years were discontinued, the 139 a
notable exception. The new pens were more streamlined and much more slim,
and they were all piston fillers with a rounded butt and the clipscrew the
colour of the pen.

Meisterstück, had a plain clip and three bands, the middle being
wider:

142 (L=127 W=13)

144 (L=134 W=14)

146 (L=138 W=15)
Medium range, had a bit smaller clipscrew and in black only and 2
bands:

244 (L=132 W=13)

246 (L=134 W=14)

These pens replaced their predecessors in the "130"-series.
In 1952 the 244
and 246 were redesigned and now sported a more conical cap and
a clip that was shaped like a spade. A new pen was the 149 that
finally replaced the 139. The 149 is the longest surviving pens of
all Montblancs since it is still produced and haven't much changed since
the 1950's.
The pens in 1952 were:

142 (L=127 W=13)

144 (L=134 W=14)

146 (L=138 W=15)

149 (L=149 W=17)

234-1/2

242 (L=123 W=13)

244 (L=132 W=13)

342

344

042 (A school-pen also called the Monte Rosa)
A series of luxury pens were also introduced, they were based on the
Meisterstücks with a few other features added:

642 (with rolled gold cap)

642 (with 14 carat solid gold cap)

644 (with rolled gold cap)

644 (with 14 carat solid gold cap)

742 (with rolled gold cap and barrel)

742 (with 14 carat solid gold cap and barrel)

In 1955 the 240-series was replaced
with the 250-series these pens had two cap bands with the lower one
wider and covering the cap lip. They also had a new "cable"-clip. The nib
was also redesigned into what has been referred to a
"Flügelfeder"-nib. Also the 642, 644 and 742 pens in
solid gold were deleted from production.
The "340"-series was also redesigned and became
more streamlined, the caps now had a single cap band and the nibs were
more open.
In 1955 the colours were:

Black

Red

Green

Grey

Striated Grey (Top Line only)

Striated Green (Top Line only)

Vertical green stripes (Top Line only)

In 1958 the Flügelfeder nib was
adopted also on the Meisterstück pens.
In 1959 the complete line was redesigned.
The 142, 144 and 146 was discontinued ALL
3-DIGIT PENS? and the remaining pens were made slimmer and fitted
with a new nib, the "Butterfly", so called because of its shape. The new
pens came in two sizes only (excluding the 149).

Meisterstück:

12 (plastic, looked a bit like the Parker 45 and had a triangular
capband)

14 (plastic, see above)

72 (with rolled gold cap)

74 (with rolled gold cap)

82 (with rolled gold cap and barrel)

84 (with rolled gold cap and barrel)

92 (in 14 carat solid gold cap and barrel)

94 (in 14 carat solid gold cap and barrel)
Medium range:

22 (with 14 ct gold nib and two cap rings)

24 (with 14 ct gold nib and two cap rings)
Economy:

32 (with 14 ct gold nib and one cap ring)

34 (with 14 ct gold nib and one cap ring)

31 (with steel nib)

32S (with steel nib, silver clip and cap ring)

34S (with steel nib, silver clip and cap ring)

31D (with "manifold" nib)

32P (cartridge filling system)

34P (cartridge filling system)

In the mid 1960's a new line was
introduced with a modular design:

>LI>Linie 60

And in 1968 a new series of high-class pens, the

Classic Meisterstück

was introduced in the following colours:

Matt Gold

Matt Silver

Matt Black

Polished Black

Grey

Red (Burgundy)

Green

Stainless steel

These pens had a clip that had a gold plated edge, or rim on the clip
screw. With these pens Montblanc went back to the 3-digit numbering system.

The Meisterstück (with 18 ct nib):

120 (in Matt Black only with rolled gold cap)

121 (with rolled gold cap)

121 (with rolled gold cap and barrel)

121 (in solid 14 carat gold)

121 (in Matt Black with silver plaed cap)

121 (in Black with solid silver cap)

121 (with solid silver cap and barrel)
Medium range (with 14ct nib)

220 (in Matt Black, rolled gold trim and one cap band)

220 (In Matt Black, silver trim and one cap band)

221 (two cap rings)

NN (with stainless steel cap and barrel)
Economy line:

321 (with rolled gold trim, 14 ct nib and one cap band)

420 (in Black only, with rolled gold trim and one cap band)

These pens had a fat feed and a metal covered hole.
In 1972 a new Matt Black metal pen with
"Montblanc" engraved on the cap lip and with the Montblanc star on top and
bottom was introduced:

VIP

In 1973 a slim pen called

Noblesse

was introduced. It came in five finishes:

Stainless Steel with rolled gold trim

Matt Satin

Silver Plated

Rolled Gold

Gold Plated with a linear design

The early pens had a plain wide clip and four wide rings.
In 1974 the feed of the
Classic-line was redesigned and became more thin, the hole was also
deleted.
In the mid 1970's the school pen 042
"Monte Rosa" (introduced in 1952) was discontinued and replaced by the

Carrera

which was a pen in Yellow or Stainless Steel with a Matt Black metal cap
and a large clip punctuated by six holes.
In 1979 the complete Classic line
was discontinued.
In the early 1980's a new pen called

Solitaire

was introduced, these pens were in fact Meisterstücks. This
adopted the name 144, possibly for sentimental reasons. It had a
straight, thin clip, and three cap rings (the middle one being wider) and
came in the following designs:

Black

Solid Silver

Gold Plated

18 carat solid gold (pin-stripe design)

18 carat solid gold (pin-stripe diamond cut design)

18 carat solid gold (barley design)

There was also a solid 18 ct gold 149 introduced.

With the Solitair a fourth digit was introduced. This denoted the metal
finish:

4 (Gold Plated in Barley design)

6 (Solid Silver in Barley design)

7 (Solid Gold 18 ct in Pinstripe design)

8 (Solid Silver in Pinstripe design)
During the 1980's th Noblesse was
redesigned. The clip was flat and became tapered. The new finishes were:

Black

Bourdeaux laquer

Midnight Blue laquer

Silver Plated

Gold Plated

Pin-striped Gold plated

Diamond-cut Gold plated

In 1992 the CS????-line. The Carrera and all the other
Economy pens were discontinued. Montblanc decided to become a
solely top line-company and extended the Solitaire Meisterstücks:

Montblanc sold incredible 56 000 Royals in
two months and the pen became the company's single best business deal.
(allright, this last paragraph mightn't be all true.)

I am quite aware that this penography is very
incomplete and probably also incorrect in certain statements. Pens are
definitely missing and probably a pen or two doesn't exist at all! Please
help me to make corrections and additions! Mail me. Remember that the sizes stated
might vary between different pens of the same model, but if the size does
seem very strange, please let me know.